Disseminate Propoganda (Project III Research)

Demonizing the Enemy

For years propoganda has been utilized in various nations in order to instill a specific activity in their specific people groups. Such illustrations can promote a positive message, such as WWII posters informing Americans that they are needed to fight the good fight. Other examples of such posters are positive to some, but negative to others. Posters that demonize the enemy often exaggerate the appearance of the subject. Such as the solider on the left, who appears to have a hunch, possibly giving the appearance that they are slightly less intelligent than their counter parts, thus making them easier to defeat.

This process has gone on for years with no signs of stopping. Whether it be the slaves in the south, as evidenced by the example on the right. This image depicts the enemy (most likely a white police officer) as a subhuman shape, towering over the 'subjects' in question. These images in some cases were subtle in their imagery, and in other cases not quite as so, evidenced from both of these examples.The use of such imagery has yet to stop even in 2009, during the recent Presidential election, numerous posters for either the right or the left started to surface. Such as the one directly below:Traditionally, these types of posters only demonized those from another nation. But in recent years they have started to attack people with differing viewpoints, regardless of nationality. This poster created by an organization called the frightening prospect, turns what was a seemingly sweet woman from Alaska into a bloodsucking vampire, whether or not that may be true is anybody's guess.

Just because people from a specific nation are attacking their own doesn't mean that the practice has changed forever. Instead it has merely adapted for the times, as evidenced by....

Proving that whether made directly by the government or not, propoganda is here to stay, or so says a parachuting Kim Jong Il.

Research for Project II:

Movement: Sachplakat
Artist: Lucien Bernhard



Posters:

-How are these examples characteristic of the movement?
-Sachplakat, or Object Poster as it is known in Switzerland featured a realistic depiction of an item and little else. Bernhard was one of the pioneers of this movement, becoming a hallmark in the eventual Plakatstil (Poster Style) movement.

-What specific stylistic devices are characteristic of this designer in particular?
-Humor, simplistic stylistic devices, visual impact

Blog Post - 10/26 (late)

John Van Hamersveld















Rick Griffin















Stanley Mouse














William Bradley

Design History Post 2 - Oct 19, 2009

Title: Various forms of typography
Artist: Hermann Zapf
Movement: --
Date: various
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Zapf

Desc.: Not only inventing some of the most commonly used typefaces today, German typographer Hermann Zapf also created the hot metal and phototypesetting compositions (two personal favorite types..). The majority of his styles have varied dramatically as evidenced by the examples at the left, many influential in the design of typography that follows years later.

Design History Post - Oct 19, 2009

Artist: John Heartfield
Title: Adolf the Superman: Swallows Gold and Spouts Junk
Date: 1932
Movement: Dada (Berlin)
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Heartfield#Works

Desc:
Heartfield's piece depicting the innards of Adolf Hitler, bring an interesting view as the true intentions of the German dictator truly were. This piece in particular strikes me as it must have been met with some form of controversy in the 1930's (and to an extent most likely still today...). Also worth mentioning are the techniques used in constructing the piece as this originated in the 30's long before Adobe Photoshop or computers ever existed.

Design History Post 2 - Oct. 12, 2009

For this post I chose the MTA graffiti street gang which ran through the Bronx during the late 1970's. Founded by Chino Malo the group predominantly 'hit' the 2 and 5 trains. Often they found themselves in competition with rival street groups such as 'Lee' and 'Blade.' I chose this group due to the use of color which includes one of the first instances in which I have seen pink used as major color in said 'graffiti scheme.'

link: http://www.at149st.com/mta.html

Design History Post 1 - Oct. 12, 2009

-Artist: Jules Cheret
-Title: Pippermint
-Date: late 1800's
-Design Movement: Art Noveau
-Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Cheret

-Desc: This piece in particular was interesting as it appears less friendlier than some of Cheret's other works. The interesting use of composition (note: shadow in the background gives appearance of either fear or death) and color (note: warmer tones with splash of pastel) also help make this piece stand out when comparing with many of Cheret's other works.

Movie Poster Research

A movie poster designed this millennium:
Backseat (2008)
Evoking much of the design simplicity that famed artist Saul Bass was known for, the designer made it more interesting reversing the direction the title in the rearview mirror. In doing this, the intent was to truly make one feel as if they were in the back seat.
A Post-Modern movie poster (designed after 1960):
Jaws (1975)
Emphasizing the title character bright bold red lettering, artist Drew Struzan creates a sense of balance and motion as the shark appears to be moving closer to the intended victim. This is further emphasized with the bubbles on either side of the shark’s mouth.
A movie poster designed before 1950:
Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Body Snatcher” (1945)
This poster appears to be ahead of its time in the overall design, as it resembles the campy horror movies of the 1950’s and 60’s. The positioning of the actor and name in the top portion of the design gives it a great sense of depth and balance while the title character does his bidding in the bottom left hand corner.
A movie poster designed by Saul Bass:
Alexandre le bienheureux (1968)
Bass, known especially for his simplicity, continues this in the work for
French film. The design is interesting on its own solely due to the shoes centered
off center in the middle of the page. In positioning the right shoe a little lower than the left, Bass also gives a sense of balance, almost in a symmetrical sense.